Chapter 21 & 22

Chapters 21 & 22 obviously started dealing with more "contemporary" history. The outcome of WWI was that the U.S. appeared as a global power and became Europe’s creditor. On the flip side communism became more of a challenge and fascism was rearing its ugly head. In Italy, where fascism first developed, Mussolini gained power. While in Germany, fascism became the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler.

The 20Th century show the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese after the United States imposed an oil embargo on Japan. The conclusion of WWII was over 5 million Jews killed, establishment of the World Bank and the new dominance of the United States as a global superpower. Since China was forbidden to maintain military forces it depended on the United States for security.

Chapter 22 took a had look into communism with USSR and China being the most important communist societies. One of the differences was land distribution. In the USSR, peasants worked on state farms for the greater good of the working class. In China, peasants had a social obligation with a goal set by the government. The peasants were able to use as they wanted any surplus product.